Hold Your Horses and Slow Down!

James 1: 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

When my dad first moved here, he would try to engage me in games like dominoes while I was trying to do the dishes, laundry, prepare dinner, etc. At first, I was frustrated, because I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish all my daily routines if I stopped several times in the middle of the day to play games with my dad, although I enjoyed the time with him.

One of the days while we were playing dominoes, my dad told me that I needed to slow down, that I rushed all the time from one thing to another and that it is stressful to both me and my body. The more I was prayerful about what my dad said, the more I realized he was right.

I tried to stop more frequently to play dominoes and cards with him. Now, that he's had several spells, he rarely plays dominoes any more, something I really long for. I feel blessed to have all these memories of the time we had together as he taught his great-grandkids and me how to play dominoes.  James 1: 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.



Caregiver Help: Creating Feel-Good Moments When Dealing With Memory Loss and Dementia
By: Nancy Adcox via You Tube



The Guy Thing!

John 15: 12 This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.

Of course, this is talking about Jesus who was persecuted, died, and arose for us. It just made me think of how my dad and my husband are becoming friends. Not maybe on the same level as his friends that he used to work with, but on a different level.

They will be watching what I call "guy shows" and I find it a good time to go to bed earlier than usual. This allows both of them to bond and to have male company. I've found that at times that one or the other of them intended to go to bed earlier, they would stay up later to be a companion watching these "guy shows" together. What a wonderful thing!

God has not only blessed me by getting to have this extra time with my dad, but He is allowing both my dad and my husband to bond in the process. John 15: 12 This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.
By: oddfellows via You Tube



Rushing to Get the Mail

1 Corinthians 2: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory:

I realize that this isn't really talking about this, but the example of how I relate that to my experience is that if my dad had known what would happen, he wouldn't have rushed to get the mail. Of course, that's hindsight.

We, all too often, tried to make it to the mailbox before my dad did, because he had a previous history of falling and we didn't want him out there without a cane or walker. Since my dad moved here, he so wanted to be a contributing member of our household. Each day, he would watch for the mailman. He didn't want anyone to beat him to the mailbox, so he would take off great guns and rush to the mailbox and return with his bounty to share with us.

Well, one afternoon, it caught up with him. He didn't take his cane with him and tripped on our one lone step onto the front porch. At least that's what we think, because Dad was out there a for awhile. I was standing behind the door waiting for him, because he would try to open it with his hands full which seemed to make him even more of a risk for falling.

I finally opened the door to see why it was taking so long and found my dad struggling to get up, blood dripping down his arm. He wouldn't let us take him to the emergency room that day, but he did a few days later. He had fractured a couple of ribs in his fall. Actually, they didn't pick up on the fractured ribs in the initial x ray, but they showed up later in the month when we came in because of breathing issues. We found out that this is quite common.

Unfortunately, we needed to insist on him not getting the mail from that point, which was difficult at first. After a while, he took on the job of letting us know when the mailman had arrived, because he delivered our mail at inconsistent times. 1 Corinthians 2: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory:

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.
By: Samantha Pelchar and Lois Nugent, St. Joseph's Hospital, Brad Sappenfield via You Tube



He Finally Said Yes, but I Blew It!

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 2 Timothy 2:24

I realize this isn't what this passage is about, but I did connect to the portion about patience. My dad kept losing weight and wouldn't drink the nutrition drinks suggested by the doctors. A variety of in-home medical professionals suggested that I use the nutrition drink to make a milkshake for my dad. Every time I would ask him about making a milkshake, he told me no.

Finally, after periodic requests, he finally said yes, but I blew it. I figured that I could put some ground almond meal in the nutrition drink milkshake to get my dad even more nutrients. How wrong I was! 

It turned out that the almond meal was grainy on his Barrett's Throat. He stopped drinking it immediately and wouldn't let me even attempt to make another nutrition milkshake for him even though I promised I wouldn't put the almond meal in it. I realized I needed to be patient with my dad and that some food textures tended to irritate his throat. I feel so blessed to have my dad here with us for whatever time that God allows. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 2 Timothy 2:24

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.


These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:

#12.5 What You Can Do to Help Your Senior Eat Right Part 2: Nutrition for Seniors (5 of 6) By: Mary Alexander with Home Instead Senior Care via You Tube


Relate2TheBible Podcast

Christ's Grace Abounds

Share the Joy Blog